Gorgeous morning for a Charlestown walk audit with the Mystic River Watershed Association and friends. Big idea is to find new connections from the neighborhood to the waterfront and to highlight the parts of the Harbor Walk that already exist.
WalkBoston took part in the Rally for the Hands Free legislation that has passed the Senate and currently stuck in the House Ways and Means Committee – we’re hopeful it will come to a floor vote before the end of the session. Thank you to the Levitans from Text Less Live More & Emily Stein from Safe Roads Alliance for continuing share their stories to ensure our roads are safer. Find your legislator here – call and ask for the bill to be brought to the floor for a vote!
“Senior strong! Everyone belongs! Kids cross here, be aware, please don’t run us down!” With creative chants, colorful signs, and African and Japanese drumming, a large and spirited group of seniors and teenagers rallied and marched in Boston’s Grove Hall neighborhood for safer streets and pedestrian crossings. The demonstration took place as part of the Elderly Commission’s Summer Sidewalk Series celebrating the first year of Age-Friendly Boston.
Many drivers got the Grove Hall group’s message as they slowed down upon seeing the lively crowd, with some even honking their horns in support. Others however continued to speed through the crosswalks, with some clearly distracted on their phones. This highlighted a strong need for permanent built environment improvements to slow traffic down and improve walking safety.
As part of our Age-Friendly Walking initiative, WalkBoston looks forward to our continued work to advance these goals in Grove Hall and all over Boston. We also encourage folks to join us outside the State House on July 11 at 12:30pm for a rally in support of hands-free legislation to reduce distracted driving. Working together and across generations, we can create safer streets for all.
Please join us on your lunch break this Wednesday, July 11th at 12:30pm on the State House steps. We will have signs, lemonade and a really important message for the legislature to hear: We are gathering to show our elected officials that we cannot and will not wait another year to pass a Hands-Free law in MA. Distracted driving is an epidemic on our roads, and a hands-free bill is a first step to solving the problem and making our roads safer.
Rich Levitan and Anna Cheshire Levitan, parents of the late Merritt Levitan and leaders of Text Less Live More, a national education and awareness campaign, joined Radio Boston on Monday.
More info and updates at the Facebook event page
The WalkBoston/EOPSS Pedestrian Safety Planning Initiative builds municipal staff understanding and awareness of the components of a safe walking environment. The initiative addresses walking safety concerns in Massachusetts communities with high pedestrian crash rates, with the goal of reducing pedestrian fatalities and serious injuries in the Commonwealth. Communities selected for participation in the initiative include: Barnstable, Chelsea, Chicopee, Framingham, Leominster, Lowell, Peabody, Randolph, Saugus, Springfield, and Yarmouth.
Cities and towns participating in the Pedestrian Safety Planning Initiative have used the results to prioritize pedestrian improvements, negotiate infrastructure fixes into development approvals, and apply for funding sources, such as from the MassDOT’s Complete Streets Funding Program.
WalkBoston conducts a walk audit focused on high pedestrian crash locations. A walk audit provides on-street, tangible learning opportunities for diverse groups of municipal staff, including police, as well as residents and other community-based groups. During the audit, we assess pedestrian infrastructure conditions and recommend built environment improvements that promote safety. Walk audits are also an effective means to build local constituencies for pedestrian safety efforts that include increased education and awareness opportunities for all road users, and greater attention to safety in local roadway design and maintenance efforts.
Participation in this EOPSS/WalkBoston Initiative has increased the awareness and readiness of municipal staff to adopt and implement complete streets policies and designs that will reduce fatal and injury crashes for all road users (including pedestrians, motorists and bicyclists) as called for under MassDOT’s Complete Streets Funding Program.